The global energy efficiency market is worth at least USD 310 billion a year and growing, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency that confirms the position of energy efficiency as the world’s “first fuel”. The report also finds that energy efficiency finance is becoming an established market segment, with innovative new…

China has slashed its official target for shale gas production in the medium term by up to a third and now expects to achieve 30 billion cubic meters of output by 2020, according to the country’s Ministry of Land and Resources at a briefing in Beijing Wednesday, September 17. Production this year will likely total…

Fearing a price dispute between Moscow and Kiev may lead to disruptions in Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine, Bulgaria is preparing to avert a gas crisis in winter months. According to Bulgaria’s caretaker deputy premier for economic policy Ekaterina Zaharieva, the Russian gas supplies are highly likely to be affected by tensions between Moscow and…

A working meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom Management Committee Chairman Alexey Miller took place today. Alexey Miller reported to Vladimir Putin that European consumers were receiving gas supplies entirely in line with contractual obligations. The total accumulated gas supplies for export exceeded the planned amount by 3 billion cubic meters by early September. According to the Hydrometcenter forecasts, the upcoming wither in Russia will be colder…

The IEA Oil Market Report (OMR) for September trimmed global oil demand growth for 2014 and 2015 to 0.9 million barrels per day (mb/d) and 1.2 mb/d, respectively, because of a pronounced slowdown in demand growth in the second quarter of this year and a weaker outlook for Europe and China. Demand in 2015 is now set at…

Western sanctions against Russia, coupled with ongoing political instability in Libya and the advance of ISIS militants in Iraq, could leave the global oil supply exposed and push up oil prices to $150 per barrel, former BP chief Tony Hayward has warned. The former CEO of BP and now chairman of Glencore Xstrata said the…

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak will meet OPEC officials on Tuesday in Vienna, his spokeswoman said, as oil’s price fall piled pressure on Moscow’s budget. The annual meeting had been planned long before oil fell below the $100 per barrel level critical for Russia’s oil sales which account for 40 percent of state budget revenues.…

The benefits of energy efficiency go well beyond the simple scaling back of energy demand, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency published today. In a study that reframes the discussion about the so-called “hidden fuel”, the IEA shows how energy efficiency has the potential to support economic growth, enhance social development,…

The expansion of renewable energy will slow over the next five years unless policy uncertainty is diminished, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said today in its third annual Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report. According to the report, power generation from renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydro grew strongly in 2013, reaching almost 22%…